


Everyone Leaves Eventually

by AChairWithAPandaOnIt



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Light Angst, Sad, ish, it's a bit longer than that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23889970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AChairWithAPandaOnIt/pseuds/AChairWithAPandaOnIt
Summary: The Doctor and Ryan have a late night conversation.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & Ryan Sinclair
Kudos: 20





	Everyone Leaves Eventually

It’s easy to smile around them. To show a bright big grin and prance around the TARDIS, pulling levers and pushing buttons and spinning wheels that make the console hum with energy.

“Where’re we going today then, Doc?” Graham grunts, clinging onto a pillar with both arms.

Ryan and Yaz are still by the doors, leaning heavily against them, shoulder to shoulder. The console is the brightest part of the TARDIS right now – as the old girl’s too caught up in the Doctor’s mood to light everything – so they’re cast into darkness

“Who knows.” The Doctor says brightly, “Well – she knows. Don’t you, my dear?” the TARDIS lights flash once.

“Hm – yes – thought so.”

They land on a planet full of fish-like aliens. And everything goes well in the beginning – as it always does – but then it turns out that the fish aliens are ruled over by a dictatorship that just happens to send eight of the poorest citizens to be eaten by a supposed God every week. Well, the Doctor just can’t let that sit, so she and the fam go over in place of four of the citizens.

They defeat the ‘God’, the dictatorship is overthrown, and the fam are absolutely brilliant, just as always.

They head back to the TARDIS – go to sleep.

Well – they say go to sleep, but _they_ don’t go to sleep. The _fam_ goes to sleep, and they retire underneath the console to fiddle with the wiring, just for something to do with their hands. Something to occupy their mind.

“Oh, the Great Vampires, the Yssgaroth,” the Doctor mutters quietly, the old Gallifreyan nursery rhyme stuck in their head. “From whence they came, Rassilon will cast them back.” they pause, fingers running down a wire, “Hm…not a fan of him – kicked him off of Gallifrey. Maybe he’s still out there…”

It’s a funny thought, just the three of them – the Doctor, the Master, and Rassilon – surviving the fall of Gallifrey. Gallifrey falls too often, the Doctor thinks. Its bad for their hearts.

“Good old Rassilon – _bad_ old Rassilon – _horrible_ old Rassilon.”

“Who’s Rassilon?”

The Doctor jumps, wires falling from their hands. Looking down at them from the hatch is Ryan.

“Oh _Rassilon,_ ” they swear, grabbing at the wires, “I’d forgotten which one I was on.”

“Sorry.” Ryan cringes.

“No need for that, dear boy,” the Doctor says absently, holding a wire up to the light for inspection, “not your fault.”

“Dear boy?” Ryan asks, face scrunching.

“Oh, _don’t you start_!” the Doctor hollers upwards, “I used to be a grandfather – grandmother – grand _person_? Grand _lord_?”

“Oh. Used to?” Ryan’s brow is crinkled.

“She’s gone now…they’re all-“ the Doctor throws the wires down on the ground and grins, “What’re you doing up?” she asks, grabbing onto the rungs of the ladder and hauling herself up to the main part of the TARDIS.

Ryan falters, watching her worriedly as he moves out of the way of the hatch.

“Uhh, well, I couldn’t sleep.” He answers.

“Thoughts keeping you busy?” the Doctor asks. She closes the hatch behind her and gets to her feet, dusting herself off. Ryan also gets to his feet.

“Yeah. Um…what about…your thoughts?”

“My thoughts? They’re fine. Great – perfect – _spectacular_.” She grins winningly.

“You said…your granddaughter is gone?” Ryan points out.

“It was _years_ ago.” The Doctor says, “ _Millenia_ ago. Doesn’t even hurt anymore.” It does. Every time they think about their dear Susan, it sends a pang of loss through their hearts. Dear, dear Susan. So happy to see the universe alongside her grandfather. They miss her, more than anything.

Dear, dear Susan.

Sucked right up, into the Time War.

They wonder if Brax is dead too. They’re getting ahead of themself.

“Are you sure?”

“’Course I’m sure. _Always_ sure. Want some tea?”

Ryan doesn’t look convinced, but he agrees anyway. They head to the kitchen and the Doctor boils the kettle. They pause, hand hovering around the pot of tea bags, before rooting around the cupboards for hot chocolate powder instead.

“Now,” the Doctor says, pushing a mug of hot chocolate into Ryan’s hands and sliding into the seat across from him, “What’s on your mind?”

“It’s stupid.” Ryan says.

“No, it’s not,” the Doctor says, “not if it’s keeping you up at night.”

“It’s…” Ryan says, hesitating.

“It’s…?” the Doctor repeats, voice lilting upwards in question.

“If we’re…travelling around with you all the time…” Ryan says. He glances from the Doctor to the hot chocolate and then keeps his gaze fixed down on it. “It’s just- our lives go on…without us. People change without us. I love travelling with you, but I…”

“But you’re scared of change.” The Doctor finishes for him.

“Maybe.”

“And you want to stop travelling with us.”

“I don’t know.” Ryan mutters. He glances up at the Doctor guiltily.

The Doctor flashes a grin.

“Don’t worry about little old me,” they say, “I’ll be fine. I’ll pop in, come play- whatever it is that you humans play. Hopscotch? Tiktok?”

Ryan laughs.

“No, not those.” He says, rolling his eyes.

“Not those?”

“Not those. I still wanna travel with you anyway. I just…I’m just, worried, I guess.”

“It’s understandable,” The Doctor says, “It happens eventually, for everyone I travel with. You humans – you just want to see the stars, but it always changes you, and the people around you.”

Everyone leaves eventually, they think sadly. Humans lead such short lives.


End file.
